July 1 2005

Veggies

Fresh organic herbs from Sunbow are now available!  We are offering sweet basil, thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary & marjoram – take your pick, you’ll get a sandwich bag full of fresh (not dried!) herbs for $2.39. This is probably our last week of strawberries. For next week only we will have garlic scapes at $3.19/half pound. Scapes are the flowerstalks found on all members of the Allium family (onions, leeks, chives, and garlic). In garlic, the scapes curl as they grow, and ultimately straighten, and then grow little seed-like bulbils. Available only for a short time, they add a tender crunchiness when added to salads and soups, or cook well in stir-fries. I’ve included a recipe here too, to get your mind going on how to enjoy this unique way to have great garlic flavor without a hot garlic bite. And I know some Eau Galle parmesan would make a great partner to Sunbow garlic scapes!

More Grains from Whole Grain Milling

Due to customer requests we’ve picked up a few more organic grains from Doug and Lin at Whole Grian Milling.  New to us this month are organic rolled oats and whole wheat pastry flour in economical 5# bags. Pastry flour is used in making muffins, cakes, cookies and other non-yeast driven baked goods.  We also carry their whole wheat flour for bread baking and all-purpose use. Stock your pantry with these fresh organic grains grown and processed by a family we trust.

Bass Lake Cheese I

I’ve been touring a number of cheese plants in the area, and I’ve come to like Bass Lake Cheese over near Somerset.  They are a fairly small operation and make a wide variety of types of cheese that are all unique and flavorful.  Among the varieties I picked up this week for sale at the Farmer’s Market: 4 year cheddar, merlot cheddar, smoked gouda, muenster delray, and two goat cheeses – a chev’re and goat jack. We don’t currently stock these new cheeses for our delivery route so you’ll need to come down to the market to get them (and try a sample) for the time being.  Available while supplies last, and until I make it over to Bass Lake again!

Agri / Culture
Where our food comes from is important – both to us as it nourishes us and “helps us grow” as I tell my 3 year old, and to the people who grow it – the farmers, their families, and even the plants and animals they care for. The farmers we work with are deeply involved and caring folks. Their food tells a story of the land, of caring for the soil – from a carefully picked strawberry at its peak ripeness to a quart of maple syrup bottled from a forest sustaining generations. Just Local Food is by it’s nature a “middleman” – but we also act as a facilitator – encouraging and completing solid relationships between people and the food they eat right here in the Chippewa Valley.  At the same time, most of us live in the city, where the Agri is usually removed from the Culture. Making connections to our food and developing relationships with those who produce it is our job – and we take it seriously. We’ve been delivering fresh issues of Volume One each month to help keep the other parts of our wonderful culture connected to the land that surrounds us. Agriculture. It feeds us in and out.

Seasonal Produce

 

Strawberries, organic from Sunbow, pint

 $4.00

Kale, organic from Sunbow, big bag

 $3.25

Chard, organic from Sunbow, big bag

 $3.25

Chives, organic, Coon Creek, bunch

 $3.00

Bunching Onions, organic, Coon Creek

 $2.00

Zucchini, organic from Coon Creek, 3

 $3.00

Herbs, organic, sandwich bag, list above

 $2.39

Garlic scapes, organic, 1/2#, Sunbow

 $3.19